Seeing Double
by AlmondsandDiamonds
Summary: When Alice meets a lost Artemis, she accidentally ends up in his mind. Now unable to get out without Artemis' help, she gets cornered into helping him with his own internal problems. (Takes place after the upcoming Alice: Otherlands and Atlantis Complex, but before the Last Guardian.)
1. Our Introductions

"Well, hello Mr. Fowl." The brunette child merely waves aside the greeting, preferring to get directly to business. "Yes, yes, I know. Now, 'Doctor' Bumby, how long do you think this will take? I am still quite young, and would prefer to live out my life without the constant and irrational fear of the number four, of all the horrendously idiotic things to have a phobia of." Bumby leans back slightly, not at all surprised that he snapped back. "Well, if it makes you feel better, the Japanese word for the number four sounds very similar to the word for death." All he got in return for the statement was a scoff and an incredulous, yet still cold, look. "It shocks me that you think I can be placated with such an incredibly unnecessary fact." "Not placated, Artemis. Consoled." "More like appease. Plus, a person in my state of mind cannot be _**consoled**_ in the true sense of the word, since I am neither in grief, nor disappointed in anything other than your lack of ability to make me 'forget', which you claim is your job." A slight chuckle escapes the doctor's lips as he shakes his head. "Now, Artemis, let's not get too far away from that subject. In fact, now would be the prime time to start." A defeated sigh comes from the teenage ex-genius in front of him. A slight, unnoticeable smirk finds its way onto his face as he holds out a key in front of Artemis. "Well, I know someone you'll get along with well… Very well. Now, where's your safe place inside your head?..."

Meanwhile, in the middle of Downtown London, a young girl by the name of Alice Liddell wanders the streets, semi-delirious and unsure what's real and what's fantasy. "Well well well, Alice. Wandering the streets like the very thing you attempted murder to not become." A purple cat materializes in front of her, grinning widely, as though laughing at his own private joke. "You could be of some help, you know. I have no idea about what to do!" She huffs, venturing down an alley. "Well, if you're going to be no help, then I might as well do what's gotten me into these strange situations." "Alice, you do realize that going down an alley has only gotten you into Wonderland once, and that just lead to a series of events that triggered it. The other two have been triggered by falling asleep and head trauma." "Well, it's the best lead I've got, so I'll just have to follow it." "Very well, Alice. I'm not one to stop you." Looking away, she stomped further into what looked to her as a colourful, overgrown gap between buildings.


	2. Artemis in Wonderland

You were currently aimlessly wandering the dimly lit dull back streets of night-time London. You had gone out for a walk a while ago, but you had managed to find yourself in an entirely different section of the city, possibly the opposite side of the city. Turning into the entrance of an alleyway, you finally admitted defeat to your exhaustion and collapsed, leaning against the wall, looking up into the polluted sky above the entire city. Remembering the stars that decorated the Irish sky. Feeling sleep tug at your consciousness, and being unable to fight it.

When you woke up, you were not in London anymore. Or, at least, you weren't in anything that looked like London. It looked more like one of the forests back in Ireland, the ones the Faye treasured so much. Entering the forest, you saw a white rabbit jump deeper into the brush. Or, at least, you thought it was a rabbit. It looked just a tad too big to be a rabbit, considering it was the same size as you. Chasing after it (And tripping on quite a few roots), you trip one last time, falling down into a strange hole, filled with all sorts of bits and bobs, including clocks and bouncy balls.

Finally, landing rather unceremoniously on the ground, you finally open your eyes and realize that, somehow, you had gotten yourself inside a fireplace, strangely at the end of a hallway. Getting out of it and realizing that you had lost the strangely large rabbit, you decided that trying to get back up would be a waste of time, and cautiously tip-toed down the convoluted hall, making sure not to trip any traps, or spring any alarms, or fall through yet another hole and land in an even stranger place. After turning a few bends, and opening a few doors, you come upon a wooden door, strangely normal in this place of madness. But, when you open the door, it just leads to yet another door, this time slightly smaller. Opening that door, you find an even smaller door, and that pattern continued until you could barely fit inside the door, which was saying something, considering that you were rather small for your age. Although that might be because of the fact that you've interacted with fairies so much, and even had some magic and an eye from one.

Managing to squeeze yourself through, you find yourself inside a rather large room, with what looked like a hologram at the other end. Approaching the illusion, you interrupt the signal from one side to the other and reveal an even smaller door. "Will this unnecessary sequence of yet smaller doors _**ever**_ stop?" You half growl, squatting down and testing the knob. Getting shocked when you did, you take a couple seconds to register the fact that someone was trying to talk to you. "H-Hello?" You ask, backing up and looking around. "Hey! Down here, you jerk! Yeesh, you just going to grab somebody like that and not apologize?" Looking down, you see that the door had a porthole, and what looked like a face was looking up at you from it. "Well, where I'm from, doors don't talk unless they have a speaker and are programmed to say something." You explain, a little nicer than you normally would be due to the fact that there was no Butler to save you if this door decided to zap you. "Well, in Wonderland, we can, so take that! Anyway, what are you doing trying to get through me, anyway? You look a little too normal to be from here." The door had calmed down a little, but you decided to stay on the safe side, just in case. "Well, I'm not too sure either. I was just dropped down here." The door thought for a moment, and gave just enough time for you to think he was about to electrocute you again, only worse this time. "Well, I suppose I could help you…" "You could have thought about that sooner. I thought you were going to kill me for a second there." "I don't have enough power too. There used to be this guy who would come fix and update everything here, but he seems to have forgotten about us." "Well, if I find this person, I might be able to come back here and help you out." "Okay then, why don't we trade services. I'll let you by if you find the mechanic. Don't blame me if you're too big, though. I can't help you with that." "To be honest, no offence, but you're a door." "None taken." "My point was I wasn't expecting you to be able to." "I understand. Now, are you going to find that mechanic, or are you going to waste all day here?" "I'm going, I'm going…" Getting up and looking around the room, you find no exit other than one on the roof, not even where you came from. Looking at the walls once more, you notice a slightly glowing path going from the floor to the door on the roof.

Approaching it, you notice a pair of boots stuck to the wall, just out of your reach. No matter how high you jumped, you couldn't quite reach. Looking elsewhere in the room, you hear a clanking noise come from behind you. When you turn around, the boots are now at the bottom of the strip. Putting them on, you find out how they were staying on the wall. Somehow, when someone wears them, gravity pulls them towards the glowy strip. Managing to get to the door, you climb through, taking the boots just in case. Looking at the hallway while halfway through the doorway, you see that it looks a lot like a rabbit hole, all of the surfaces were covered in various bits and pieces of broken robots and things that could have been robots if they had been finished.

Actually entering the hall, you open your eyes, having closed them while climbing up, and you find it completely empty, looking more like a laboratory hallway now. Cast in blue by the light strips on either side of the hallway, you round a corner, only to find yourself about to fall back inside the strange hallway. You see strange bursts of light coming from the door in front of you, making it safe to assume that you're nearing the mechanic's abode. Knowing this, you look for anything to help you get across, but find nothing except another light path leading to what looked like a vent above you. Deciding to take the risk, you carefully step onto the path, yet your foot doesn't stick, like it did to the previous one. Looking closer, you realize that the two paths weren't the same colour, and that you would probably need the boots for this specific pathway. Looking again, you notice a path leading downwards that matched the colour of your boots, ending at a pathway that seemed to lead to yet another pathway, which finally lead to the vent, with each being a different colour, except for the second to last one, which was the same colour as the first one. Feeling fear grip fiercely at your heart, you took a step onto the first path, finding at the second path that these boots are incredibly heavy. Being constantly pulled down by the weight of the boots, you felt a little sick by the time you could set them down without having them fall back down into the fireplace. Finally reaching the vent, you climb into it gratefully, and drop into the corridor before the mechanics office less than gracefully. Creeping up to the door, you take a deep breath, and open it.

And, the official beginning of this story! Well, I hope that you all have enjoyed it so far, and, well, I hope I don't suck too bad. So, yeah, I know that this is seeming more Disney's Alice than American McGee, but trust me, corruption will come soon. So, what do you think the Mechanic will be like? Will he be the Mad Hatter of this Wonderland, or will he be completely different? Perhaps he's the Puppetmaster of this much more technologically advanced land? Well, I suppose we'll find out in a chapter or two, due to the fact that next we have Alice! What has she been up to since we last left her? I certainly hope that she hasn't gotten in too much trouble. Anyway, until next chapter! (Also, wow. Look at that word difference between this chapter an the next. Wow. Just, wow.) (Just another note, thank you to the anon who pointed out that FF had taken out my paragraph separators when I posted this story. u)


	3. Not just Alice

While Artemis whiled away in the twisting paths of his own mind, we have Alice. Going back to after the introductions, Alice is sulking after being essentially denied access back into Wonderland.

Turning the corner, you blindly walked forward in stubbornness, not noticing the sleeping boy at the entrance of the alley. Catching your foot on his leg, you fall, knocking your head against the ground, and seeing your world crumble. Getting up and backing up slightly, the ground under your feet fell away, and. reminiscent of the older cartoons, you hover for a couple seconds before falling, feeling as though you were entering your old wonderland again. However, things were off, particularly the presence of doors, passageways, and vents in the walls.

Landing in what looked like the very same fireplace as the one you landed in when you first visited Wonderland, you roll out and follow what looks very similar to the very same path that you took when you were chasing the White Rabbit. Finding all of the doors open, you got to the door within a door you yourself encountered. However, it seemed as though it was meant for someone much smaller, since you couldn't get through the final door. Looking around for an alternative, you say an odd pile of junk by one of the walls. Moving it aside with slight difficulty, you found a much larger door, which, surprisingly, didn't lead to another door. This one lead to a passage much smaller than the door itself, yet still large enough that you could fit through.

Following the passage for a little bit, it branched off into two paths, with one leading to a fan, and the other leading to a vent. Taking out your Vorpal Blade, you decide to take the fan route. Using your Pepper Grinder to jam the fan, you used the knife to unscrew the screws holding it in place, leaving the outside world free for exploration. You of course put the fan back, however.

Landing gracefully on the ground, you were greeted with something very much unlike any place in your Wonderland. The entire place was underground, with buildings literally reaching the ceiling. There was a failing screen that covered the entire top of the cavern, possibly meant for a fake sky. The entire thing looked to have used to be a very beautiful city, but now it looked more like rough stone hand-carved with rudimentary tools. Delving deeper into the ruins, you noticed strange movement out of the corners of your vision, but you could never react fast enough to figure out what it was. Deciding to explore the darkness that was in between the buildings, you pulled out your Hobby Horse, only to have it disappear in your hands. Pulling out all of your other weapons, they also disappeared, with the only exception being the parasol. Unable to attack any foes, you have second thoughts about exploring the alleys, and decide to wait until you have a weapon.

Hearing a door open behind you, you turn around and see the very same boy that you tripped over exiting the building you escaped from.

"Who are you?" You say, cautiously turning the parasol towards him. "Who are you, and why are you carrying an umbrella?" He replied. "Why should I tell you my name?" "Because this appears to be my mind. Speaking of which, why are you here? Are you trying to do something? What are your plans, you…" He trailed off at the end, seeming to not know the right word. You sigh, deciding to not wait for him to find it. "Okay then, good point. My name's Alice, and I am holding this umbrella due to the fact that here, in Wonderland, it can reflect projectiles. No, I am not plotting against you, so, now it's your turn." "I'm… I suppose I'm Artemis. Artemis... Fowl."

Why does Artemis consider the thought he's someone other than himself? Well, since I'm a stickler for cliffhangers, I shall tell you next chapter! Oooh, isn't this fun! Well, I don't really have anything to say besides that, so I'll see you next chapter! (Also, just to explain why I removed Alice's weapons, I didn't want her to have a head start in this. There wouldn't be any tension, any good story, with her being able to easily defeat ¾ of the enemies.)

EDIT: H3h3, 1 c4n sm3ll th3 upd4t3s com1ng! Okay, if you get that, you have permission to continue. I've been working on a separate project, where you get to interact with all of the trolls, Dave and Rose eventually, and, if I get that far, you might even meet John and Jade in person. So, if I don't work on this project for a while, it's because I'm working on the other one.


	4. Who is Artemis?

You have finally reached the door to the mechanic's room. After what felt like an eternity, you open the door and find a swivel chair with a large, rectangular object in the seat. Stepping forward a little into the cramped room and swinging the chair around, you find that it's a mirror, and that your reflection is displayed in the middle of the ornate frame. Or, at least what could have been your reflection. Instead of standing, your reflection was sitting in the chair, a smug look on his face.

"Hello, Orion. It's been a long time." The reflection, or rather, what you thought was a reflection, stood up and held one hand out, somehow going beyond the mirror. "Come on. You ruined my life once, but I suppose I could give you a second chance. After all, if I got one, I suppose I should give you one." You stand there, confused, before finally saying what had been on the tip of your tongue for the past few seconds. "I'm Artemis. Not Orion." Your reflection smiled, chuckling as though you were an ignorant little child. "You may think you are, but just because you think something's true doesn't mean it is." You open your mouth to argue, but your reflection grabs your wrist before you could, dragging you to his side of the mirror.

Stumbling, you fall forward and shatter the mirror, feeling the shards cut into your skin. You sit up, and think for a couple seconds, wondering what kind of messed up place you landed in. Getting up after pondering for a couple seconds, you walk out of the office, only to discover that the door now leads to a dirty, ghost town of a city, the only life form you can see is the fragile frame of a girl, about 3-4 years older than you. She turns around sharply, her hair whipping around and a surprised look on your face. Cautiously pointing an umbrella towards you, she whispers "Who are you," barely audible. You decide to pull your own cards out first. "Who are you," Your eyes stray towards the parasol in her hands "... and why are you carrying an umbrella?" She looks at you quizzically, replying with a demand for a reason as though it was the first thing to ask, and nothing about the abandoned city. You try to restrain your inner paranoia, but instead blurt out a string of questions, stopping yourself before you go too far. "Okay then, good point. My name's Alice, and I am holding this umbrella due to the fact that here, in Wonderland, it can reflect projectiles. No, I am not plotting against you, so, now it's your turn." You mull that over for a second, before replying with "I'm… I suppose I'm Artemis. Artemis... Fowl."

Oooooooooooooooooh. Arty has some serious identity issues, huh? I might bring up mirrors as a way of getting around Artemis' Wonderland later, like Alice and her doors. Anyway, sorry about the hiatus. School happened. Anyway, I'm kinda back, so yeah. Anyway, I suppose I should end this now, huh? Anyway, see you next chapter. Edit: Alright guys. I have finally come up with an actual title for this. The title kiiiiinda hints as to what happens later, but it's still pretty spoiler-free. Anyway, adiou!


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